If you get an error message like “Documents.library-ms” is no longer working when you click on a built-in Windows library, there’s a simple and easy fix for the problem.

The same thing can happen for Pictures, which will say “Pictures.library-ms” is no longer working. This library can safely be deleted from your computer. Folders that have been included will not be affected. And “Music.library-ms” or “Videos.library-ms” are the other error messages.

All of these errors are the same thing: the library was corrupted somehow. Thankfully the fix for all of these could not be simpler.

First, right-click and delete all of the problem libraries. Then just right-click on the Libraries item in the navigation menu on the left-hand side of the Explorer window, and choose “Restore default libraries”. You might note that we just covered this same technique yesterday in our post about how to restore the default libraries.

Your libraries will go back to normal – notice that the icons are no longer the generic library, but the correct icon for each type.